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Since retiring from the Military, this past winter I had started searching family history and came across William Brewster of Scrooby, Hearing the name that night on the show airing I had to look again and sure enough, he's my 12th Great Grandfather. I desend from the Kingsbury's, who also sailed with the Winthrop fleet in 1630, so Geni says were 12th cousins once removed, lol. Its a small world!!

It was also through that episode that I realized my husband was descendant from William Brewster (also his 12th great-grandfather). I love that show. It shows me new ways to research or think about how to research. I've learned so much from it!

Yeah, and the thing I'm kind of wanting to track now through that line is whether or not religion and the freedom of religion was passed on through the generations following William Brewster. I know my mother-in-law (how my husband is connected to him) is incredibly involved in the church, and I'm wondering if that was true for the other 11 people between her and William.

Haha! Some people actually think that there might be, but it kind of comes down to the nature vs nurture debate. I'm curious if the children of people who were highly religious or stood for certain values ended up following their parents' beliefs or if they rebelled and went their own way.

And yeah, that cell made what he went through feel so real. I can't imagine how it actually felt when she sat in it.

Has anyone tested the relationship between Joseph Smith and William Brewster? Or any of the other famous religious dissenters of early New England? Anne Hutchinson, William Penn, Rev Thomas Hooker, etc.

Private User

5/22/2011 at 5:36 PM

Erica "the Disconnectrix" Howton I'm not sure what you mean by "Never trust the Geni! Go clean up tree! :)". Was that directed at me? All the relationships in the path looked solid to me, can you explain?

William Brewster, of Scrooby is Joseph Smith, Jr.'s wife's husband's 6th great grandfather.

Anne Marbury is William Brewster, of Scrooby's third great granddaughter's husband's second great grandmother.

Thank you! I've never looked into the Kingsbury's before. Now I'm curious as to their story.

Private User

5/22/2011 at 10:39 PM

I wasn't aware that Brewster was regarded as "royalty". I couldn't care less if I have a Mayflower ancestor. I thought it was interesting that, through the Brewster connection, I might be related to you all.

What's most interesting to me is that your immediate assumption was that I am (a) eager to find a "famous" connection and (b) wrong, or at least unsure, about my ancestors. Fascinating! ;)

Gov. John Winthrop, Massachusetts Bay Colony@john is where the kingsbury's came over with, Joseph was married to Millicet Ames, she was the mayflower connection, I too find it fascinating how we are all related thru time and history of the growth of a country. Its alot like a big puzzle we are putting back togather.

I thought I was related to Governor Bradford through his daughter marrying my relative Samuel Wilbore, "The Immigrant" but it turns out that that belief goes back a long time and was in fact an erroneous leap by one of the early historians of Colonial times. Another Wilbore descendant emailed me and I went to New England Genealogical and Historical Society and got the source and information to correct Geni.

Although I was a bit disappointed, I was thrilled to have corrected an important mistake in the tree.

Erica: Regarding your point about Great Migration ancestors...I'm almost nothing but Great Migration on my father's mother's father's side, yet I've still never hit on a Mayflower ancestor. True Brahmins all over, right up through recent generations (like my grandmother), but never Mayflower. It always baffles me. Though I've spent enough time laughing at the Mayflower Society over the years that I kinda don't want to find a connection, to be honest. ;)

Ashley - most of my Mayflower ancestors are through my 4th great grandmother, who was a Gallup. So the same would nearly be true for me on my mother's side except for that marriage, tons of Great Migration relatives. Now, I am a descendant of the fathers or grandfathers of several of the Mayflower descendants also, which you probably will find yourself being as well eventually.

Like Brewster :)

Private User

5/23/2011 at 1:58 PM

That is true for me -- I'm connected pretty closely to just about all of them. I just haven't found myself to be a direct lineal descendant of any passengers.

I remember that I was pretty closely connected to one of the people profiled on WDYTYA, but for some reason I can't remember for the life of me which episode it was now...I imagine there must already be a WDYTYA project I can go look up, huh? :) Maybe that's the next thing to add to my to-do list...